In 2025, fire departments serving Centralia responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
230 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | -12.8% | |
| 2023 | 52 | +26.8% | |
| 2024 | 61 | +17.3% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -52.5% |
For the 3 building fires Centralia departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 38 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 18.4% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 26.3% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Centralia mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 26.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Centralia departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $300 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Centralia sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,206 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 685 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 240 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 235 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 185 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 150 | 33.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 23.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 112 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 103 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 14.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 19.0 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Centralia. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Centralia.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.